Water erosion risk prediction in eucalyptus plantations.

Eucalyptus plantations are normally found in vulnerable ecosystems such as steep slope, soil with low natural fertility and lands that were degraded by agriculture. The objective of this study was to obtain Universal Soil Loss Equation (USLE) factors and use them to estimate water erosion risk in regions with eucalyptus planted. The USLE factors were obtained in field plots under natural rainfall in the Rio Doce Basin, MG, Brazil, and the model applied to assess erosion risk using USLE in a Geographic Information System. The study area showed rainfall-runoff erosivity values from 10,721 to 10,642 MJ mm ha-1 h-1 yr-1. Some soils (Latosols) had very low erodibility values (2.0 x 10-4 and 1.0 x 10-4t h MJ-1 mm-1), the topographic factor ranged from 0.03 to 10.57 and crop and management factor values obtained for native forest, eucalyptus and planted pasture were 0.09, 0.12 and 0.22, respectively. Water erosion risk estimates for current land use indicated that the areas where should receive more attention were mainly areas with greater topographic factors and those with Cambisols. Planning of forestry activities in this region should consider implementation of other conservation practices beyond those already used, reducing areas with a greater risk of soil erosion and increasing areas with very low risk.

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: SILVA, M. A. da, SILVA, M. L. N., CURI, N., OLIVEIRA, A. H., AVANZI, J. C., NORTON, L. D.
Other Authors: MAYESSE APARECIDA DA SILVA, CIAT; MARX LEANDRO NAVES SILVA, UFLA; NILTON CURI, UFLA; ANNA HOFFMANN OLIVEIRA, UFLA; JUNIOR CESAR AVANZI, CNPASA; LLOYD DARRELL NORTON, USDA.
Format: Artigo de periódico biblioteca
Language:English
eng
Published: 2016-03-21
Subjects:Manejo florestal, Prática conservacionista, Perda do solo, Fatores da USLE, Eucalipto, Erosão hídrica,
Online Access:http://www.alice.cnptia.embrapa.br/alice/handle/doc/1041542
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Summary:Eucalyptus plantations are normally found in vulnerable ecosystems such as steep slope, soil with low natural fertility and lands that were degraded by agriculture. The objective of this study was to obtain Universal Soil Loss Equation (USLE) factors and use them to estimate water erosion risk in regions with eucalyptus planted. The USLE factors were obtained in field plots under natural rainfall in the Rio Doce Basin, MG, Brazil, and the model applied to assess erosion risk using USLE in a Geographic Information System. The study area showed rainfall-runoff erosivity values from 10,721 to 10,642 MJ mm ha-1 h-1 yr-1. Some soils (Latosols) had very low erodibility values (2.0 x 10-4 and 1.0 x 10-4t h MJ-1 mm-1), the topographic factor ranged from 0.03 to 10.57 and crop and management factor values obtained for native forest, eucalyptus and planted pasture were 0.09, 0.12 and 0.22, respectively. Water erosion risk estimates for current land use indicated that the areas where should receive more attention were mainly areas with greater topographic factors and those with Cambisols. Planning of forestry activities in this region should consider implementation of other conservation practices beyond those already used, reducing areas with a greater risk of soil erosion and increasing areas with very low risk.